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Friday, December 09, 2016

Here's a rundown of what's open in Boston on Christmas, December 25, 2017, plus information on: trash collection, parking, MBTA schedule changes, and whatever else we were able to gather to answer your Chrismas week questions.

Remember, many businesses close early on Christmas Eve. Call before you leave, if you plan to visit a business on the 24th.

Welcome to all of you who have found BostonZest.com while searching for this information. We hope you'll look around at the other resources we provide, subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on Twitter, and come back often.

City, Town, State and Federal offices and facilities are closed:This includes Schools, Libraries, and the Postal Service. Only emergency services are available.

Boston Parking: You don't have to feed the meters. Other parking rules apply. When we have official hours for the Tow Lot over the holiday, we'll update this section. Call before going on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Financial Services: As the British would say, this is a Bank Holiday with both banks and the stock markets in the United State closed. Some international markets are open.

Sunday, October 09, 2016

Columbus Day weekend is the perfect time to make travel reservations, if you have companion animals.

Whether your furry pals are traveling with you or staying with friends for the holidays, make whatever reservations you will need as soon as possible.

Pet sitter and boarding kennel schedules can fill up fast for the holiday season. Airlines limit the number of pets in the cabin and pet-friendly lodgings might have no vacancies, if you wait too long.

Poppy usually travels with us and is packed and ready to go at a moments notice when we find a vacancy at one of our favorite vacation spots that welcome our whole family of three.

Friends & Family Deserve Notice Too

Even informal agreements with family, friends, and other pet lovers for care while you travel should be arranged well in advance to ensure a visitor will fit with their holiday plans. If you’re counting on Mom or Dad to take Fluffy while you are away, check now to see if that feline visitor is welcome this year.

We often meet dogs in the parks who are “grandpups” visiting their “grandparents.” If you have a family member or friend who shares your pet care values and is willing to take your place while you travel, you’re fortunate.

We've covered this topic many times before, both here and in other publications. Here are a couple of BostonZest posts with tips and more advice on boarding or traveling with your dog.

Friday, September 23, 2016

With or without a spring 2019 Boston area college graduation in your family, you'll likely need to coordinate your dining and travel plans around the commencement ceremonies. We have set up this page as a permanent resource and update it as we find new information.

Our list also helps visitors to Boston understand why hotel rooms are so expensive and restaurant reservations so scarce on some dates in May. The local destination experts on travel websites are busy answering questions about the cost of visits to our city.

Reservations at area restaurants will be harder to find May 11th, 12th and 13th with Mother's Day and 6 commencements, and scarce May 17th through 20th when 15 schools – including Boston University, Tufts University, and Boston College – will hold ceremonies. Harvard commencement is May 30th and MIT June 7th – each of these schools is large enough to have an impact on its own. Harvard can also interfere with traffic as they move busloads of people from one place to another around event time.

To help you plan your dining options in May and early June, here are the dates of the major commencement ceremonies for your 2019 calendar.

If you know of a Boston area college or university graduation date that we've missed, send us a comment.

Friday, August 26, 2016

Here's a rundown of what's open and what's closed in Boston on Labor Day, Monday, September 4, 2017. We'll also keep up with parking information, trash schedules, and changes to MBTA schedules. This is now a permanent page that we'll update from year-to-year.

All information is updated as of 08/30/17

Rather than an end to summer, we call Labor Day the beginning of the golden days of summer that last well beyond the Autumnal Equinox (September 22nd is this year's date.)

We feature these reminders well before a holiday (especially big ones like this) to give you a nudge to finalize your holiday plans. Follow along on Twitter (@bostonzest) or bookmark this page to check back. We'll update as information comes to us.

Restaurants, Bars: Open

Convenience stores: Open

Supermarkets: Open

Liquor stores: Open

Retail stores: Are allowed to open, if the owners wish to open.

City, Town, State and Federal offices and facilities are closed: This includes Schools, Libraries, and thePostal Service (express mail will be delivered). Only emergency services are available.

Financial Services: In general, as the British would say, this is a Bank Holiday with both Banks and the stock markets in the United State closed. Some international markets are open.And, check with your bank, they might have some offices open.

Friday, August 28, 2015

With or without a Spring 2016 Boston area college graduation in your family, you'll likely need to coordinate your dining and travel plans around the commencement ceremonies. We're running this very early because so many readers have been making their way to last year's post.

Our list also helps visitors to Boston understand why hotel rooms are so expensive and restaurant reservations so scarce on some dates in May. The local destination experts who guide Boston visitors over on Trip Advisor are busy answering questions about the cost of visits to our city.

Reservations at area restaurants will be harder to find May 6th through 9th with Mother's Day and 6 commencements, and scarce May 19th through 23rd when 14 schools, including Tufts University and Boston College, will hold ceremonies. Harvard commencement is May 26th and MIT June 3rd – each of these schools is large enough to have an impact on its own. Harvard can also interfere with traffic as they move busloads of people from one place to another around event time.

To help you plan your dining options in May and early June, here are the dates of the major commencement ceremonies for your 2016 calendar.

If you know of a college or university graduation date that we've missed, send us a comment.

These were taken just after she and Poppy joined four of us for a lunch on the Common. While there was snow on the ground, it was warm enough for dining outside. I look forward to meeting up with some of our regular dog walking pals and having a bench picnic or taking a table at a place that accommodates dogs near their patio.

Beach Walks are also high on our family list. Poppy, as a puppy, had a dangerous habit of eating sand. We hope that as her third birthday approaches, she will prance down the beach, head up, and tail wagging. The delivery trucks and noisy construction crews that are her fear trigger seldom appear on the sand.

So what's on your list. We'd love to feature some of your favorite dog destinations in upcoming Sunday Dog pieces.

As you meet friends and extend your dog walks as the weather improves, remember that both you and your dog may need to ease into the extra exercise. If your walks have been short over the winter, don’t take on a five mile stroll around the city without watching to see if your team is up to the distance.

Paws that were covered in boots for months may be tender, so check them both on the road and after walks. Sudden heat may be too much for puppies or senior dogs. Make sure you give any dog showing signs of fatigue a break. And, put a bottle of water near your leash since the season for carrying water for our dogs will soon be upon us.

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